Myers Operations, Inc. v. Noles

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 13, 2023
Docket22-01058
StatusUnknown

This text of Myers Operations, Inc. v. Noles (Myers Operations, Inc. v. Noles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Myers Operations, Inc. v. Noles, (Okla. 2023).

Opinion

ee □□ Ey EER, □□ A/a □□ Dated: January 13, 2023 2 Sere 1 1 : Baas The following is ORDERED: wo ON AES SLD 2 0 □□□□ OF

Sarah A Hall United States Bankruptcy Judge

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA In re: ) ) JERRY WAYNE NOLES, ) Case No. 22-11808-SAH ) Chapter 7 Debtor. ) □□□ ) MYERS OPERATIONS, INC., AND ) 2016 MOBILE WATER SYSTEMS 1, LLC, _ ) ) Plaintiffs, ) v. ) Adv. Pro, 22-01058-SAH ) JERRY WAYNE NOLES, ) ) Defendant. ) ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS WITH BRIEF IN SUPPORT AND NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING [DOC. 9] AND DIRECTING PLAINTIFFS TO FILE AN AMENDED COMPLAINT Before the Court are: (1) Motion to Dismiss with Notice of Opportunity for Hearing [Doc. 9] (the “Motion’”), filed by defendant Jerry Wayne Noles (“Defendant”) on December 9, 2022; and (11) Plaintiff's [sic.] Response and Objection to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss

[Doc. 9] and Brief in Support [Doc. 10] (the “Response”), filed by plaintiffs Myers Operations, Inc. and 2016 Mobile Water Systems I, LLC (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) on December 21, 2022. In the Motion, Defendant seeks dismissal of Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint to Determine Dischargeablity of Debt [Doc. 4], filed on November 9, 2022 (the “Complaint”).

Jurisdiction The Court has jurisdiction to hear the Motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b), and venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1409. Reference to the Court of this matter is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(a), and this is a core proceeding as contemplated by 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I). STANDARDS GOVERNING RULE 12(b)(6) MOTIONS TO DISMISS A plaintiff bears the burden of framing a complaint with enough factual matter to suggest he is entitled to relief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 (made applicable by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7008); Robbins v.

Oklahoma, 519 F.3d 1242, 1247 (10th Cir. 2008). But Rule 8 does not impose an onerous pleading standard. In fact, Rule 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. The philosophy of Rule 8(a)(2) is reinforced by Rule 8(d), which permits alternative statements and inconsistent claims and defenses, and Rule 8(e), which requires pleadings to be construed so as to do justice. Consequently, federal courts have repeatedly emphasized pleadings are to be construed liberally in accordance with the justice mandate in Rule 8(e) and the general spirit of the Federal Rules. Wright & Miller, 5 Fed. Prac. & Proc. Civ. § 1215 (3d ed.).

A strong presumption exists against the dismissal of claims under Rule 12(b)(6). Cottrell, Ltd. v. Biotrol Int’l Inc., 191 F.3d 1248, 1251 (10th Cir. 1999). Thus, “[d]ismissal of a complaint is appropriate only if it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in 2 support of his claim which would entitle him to relief. The issue is not whether the plaintiff will prevail, but whether the plaintiff is entitled to offer evidence to support his claims.” State of Colorado v. Wine (In re Wine), 558 B.R. 438, 441 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2016). To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (made applicable by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7012), “a plaintiff must include in the complaint ‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”” Barenburg v. Burton (In re Burton), 2010 WL 3422584, at *2 (10" Cir. Aug. 31, 2010) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). This standard requires factual allegations contained in an adversary complaint be sufficient to raise a right to relief above mere speculation. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. See also, Ridge at Red Hawk, L.L.C. v. Schneider, 493 F.3d 1174, 1177 (10" Cir. 2007) (stating complaint must give the court reason to believe the plaintiff has a reasonable likelihood of mustering factual support for the claims raised). Bare legal conclusions and simple recitations of the elements of a cause of action do not satisfy this standard. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. The Tenth Circuit has instructed “the degree of specificity necessary to establish plausibility and fair notice, and therefore the need to include sufficient factual allegations, depends on context” and whether a defendant receives fair notice “depends on the type of case.” Robbins, 519 F.3d at 1248. APPLICABLE BANKRUPTCY CODE SECTIONS AND RULES The claims raised in the Complaint are made pursuant to the following provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2), (4) and (6).'! Section 523(a)(2)(A), (4) and (6) provide:

'Unless otherwise indicated, hereafter all references to sections are to the Bankruptcy Code, Title 11 of the United States Code.

(a) A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1192, 1228(a), 1228(b), or 1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt– . . . (2) for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or refinancing of credit, to the extent obtained by— (A) false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud, other than a statement respecting the debtor’s or an insider’s financial condition; . . . (4) for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement, or larceny; . . . (6) for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity or to the property of another entity; STATEMENT OF FACTS FROM COMPLAINT The Court must accept the “well-pleaded allegations of the [Complaint] as true and view them in the light most favorable” to Plaintiff. Albers v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 771 F.3d 697, 700 (10th Cir. 2014). The difficulty with the Complaint is its absence of relevant, non- conclusory2 facts in the body of the Complaint itself. Specifically, the only facts which the Court must take as true are as follows: 2The Court takes as true all well-pled, as opposed to conclusory, allegations of the Complaint. Shero v. City of Grove, Okla., 510 F.3d 1196, 1200 (10th Cir. 2007) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570)). Additionally, the Court ignores all new fact allegations contained in the Motion and the Response as the Court can accept only the fact allegations of the Complaint (and counsel should be well aware of this legal limitation). Earles v. Cleveland, 418 F.Supp.3d 879 (W.D. Okla. 2019) (court disregarded allegations raised for first time in response to a motion to dismiss); Salopek, Trustee for Salopek Family Heritage Trust v. Zurich American Life Ins. Co., 428 F.Supp.3d 609, 617 (D. N.M. 2019); In re Qwest Commc’ns Int’l Inc., 396 F.Supp.2d 1178, 1202 (D. Colo.

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